This volume captures the success of India's Look East Policy (LEP) in promoting economic engagement with neighbouring countries in Asia and simultaneously its limitations in propelling growth in the bordering North Eastern Region - India's bridge head to South East Asia. It analyses the instrumental role of LEP in bringing a tectonic shift in India's foreign trade by redirecting the focus from the West to the East, thus leading to a fundamental change in the nature of India's economic interdependence. Besides discussing foreign trade, it expounds as to how LEP made India play an important role in the emerging Asian security architecture and liberated Indian foreign policy from being centred on South Asia. The essays also enumerate the reasons for LEP's failure in the North Eastern Region and chart out actionable programmes for course correction that might be factored into its latest edition - the Act East Policy. This book will interest scholars and researchers of international relations, international trade and economics, politics, and particularly those concerned with Northeast India.

This volume captures the success of India's Look East Policy (LEP) in promoting economic engagement with neighbouring countries in Asia and simultaneously its limitations in propelling growth in the bordering North Eastern Region - India's bridge head to South East Asia. It analyses the instrumental role of LEP in bringing a tectonic shift in India's foreign trade by redirecting the focus from the West to the East, thus leading to a fundamental change in the nature of India's economic interdependence. Besides discussing foreign trade, it expounds as to how LEP made India play an important role in the emerging Asian security architecture and liberated Indian foreign policy from being centred on South Asia. The essays also enumerate the reasons for LEP's failure in the North Eastern Region and chart out actionable programmes for course correction that might be factored into its latest edition - the Act East Policy. This book will interest scholars and researchers of international relations, international trade and economics, politics, and particularly those concerned with Northeast India.

This book examines the strategic and economic logic behind the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Regional Cooperation. According to estimates, BCIM covers approximately 9 percent of the world's mass and 40 percent of the world's population spanning across four countries, constituting the confluence of East, Southeast and South Asia. It contributes about 13 percent to world trade but ironically only 5 percent to inter-regional trade. This volume compares the various approaches to cooperation - trade-led vs project-led, geo-political vs geo-strategic, Sino-centric vs India-led. The chapters explore the complex interplay of geo-economics and geo-politics associated with BCIM sub-regional cooperation in general, and the BCIM Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) in particular. It points to the current challenges that impede globalisation and economic growth, and critically reviews implications for the stakeholders, institutional frameworks and the spatial impact of the Corridor, especially on the underdeveloped regions. The book discusses the geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic advantages that will accrue to the member countries once the sub-regional cooperation becomes fully functional. It advocates the adoption of best practices from similar sub-regional groupings across the globe. This book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, geo-politics, strategic studies, sub-regional cooperation, South Asian studies, India-China relations, foreign trade and economics, besides those dealing with foreign policy and development cooperation. It will especially benefit policymakers, development agencies and strategic think tanks.

This book examines the strategic and economic logic behind the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Regional Cooperation. According to estimates, BCIM covers approximately 9 percent of the world's mass and 40 percent of the world's population spanning across four countries, constituting the confluence of East, Southeast and South Asia. It contributes about 13 percent to world trade but ironically only 5 percent to inter-regional trade. This volume compares the various approaches to cooperation - trade-led vs project-led, geo-political vs geo-strategic, Sino-centric vs India-led. The chapters explore the complex interplay of geo-economics and geo-politics associated with BCIM sub-regional cooperation in general, and the BCIM Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) in particular. It points to the current challenges that impede globalisation and economic growth, and critically reviews implications for the stakeholders, institutional frameworks and the spatial impact of the Corridor, especially on the underdeveloped regions. The book discusses the geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic advantages that will accrue to the member countries once the sub-regional cooperation becomes fully functional. It advocates the adoption of best practices from similar sub-regional groupings across the globe. This book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, geo-politics, strategic studies, sub-regional cooperation, South Asian studies, India-China relations, foreign trade and economics, besides those dealing with foreign policy and development cooperation. It will especially benefit policymakers, development agencies and strategic think tanks.

This book deals with the prospect and potential of development of India's North-Eastern Region (NER) through sub-regional cooperation with the neighbouring members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Although landlockedness has long stunted the economic growth of NER, with ASEAN-India as well as India-Bangladesh connectivity projects gathering pace, the silver lining is appearing on the horizon. The completion of India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway connecting Moreh (Manipur) with Mae Sot (Thailand) across Myanmar will land-link the region with the ASEAN countries. Further extension of the Highway till Vietnam and Cambodia, as is being envisaged, will take the north-eastern region even closer to the ASEAN. Likewise, India is extending railways to Manipur which will eventually be connected with the rail network of Myanmar as a part of the Asian Development Bank's Trans-Asian Railway project. Besides, the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transportation Project (KMTTP) will open up maritime route for the north-eastern region by connecting India's eastern ports with the Sittwe port in Myanmar. Again, Sittwe port will be connected with the riverine port of Paletwa on Kaladan river from where Lawngtlai in Mizoram will be connected by road. With the connectivity problem about to be resolved, in what ways would the north-eastern region engage with her South East Asian neighbours? What are the nodes of sub-regional cooperation that can benefit both NER and ASEAN? How can we enumerate and strategize the potential strength of the region which she can offer to her neighbours and identify the essential requirements that she can pick up from them? What role the other stakeholders (state and non-state actors) can play in synchronizing domestic economic initiatives in tune with the needs of the markets in neighbouring countries? How to map the various activity-, product-, service-, specific strengths of the different states in the region for which there are demands across the borders? Which cross-border projects are viable? How can we re-imagine the 'border' as a conceptual apparatus for bridgability rather than a dividing entity of people on either side? How can the community bonding be used to promote a uniform social space in a group which is territorially divided?